“Venter”

Let's take a moment to consider the personnel at hand: We have a black metal drummer whose blast beats were performed with such frighteningly inhuman technical precision and speed that when he left his previous band, they had no choice but to replace him with a machine. Then we've got another guy named Thor, perpetually shirtless, ringing bells of doom with apocalyptic harbingers Swans and spending most of his free time building his own instruments. There is also a guy who holds a master's degree in biochemistry. They were all assembled by a bearded, wild-eyed Icelander named Ben Frost, who will release his album A U R O R A on May 26/27 via Mute/Bedroom Community. I suppose we should be thankful that "Venter", the first sample of Frost's collaboration with Greg Fox (formerly of Liturgy), Thor Harris and Shahzad Ismaily, is a piece of music rather than a WMD. But, hell, it's not that far off. I'm not going to spoil what happens, but let's just say it's called "Venter" for a damn good reason.